Radiation detectors have many important uses in nuclear energy, physics research, materials science, and radiation safety, among others. Two types of radiation often of interest include neutrons and gamma rays.
One way to detect these types of radiation uses a scintillator material called CLYC (which is Cs2LiYCl6:Ce3+), typically in the form of a crystal. Like other scintillators, a CLYC crystal produces a flash of light when capturing a gamma ray. The flash of light can be turned into an electrical signal for further analysis. A CLYC scintillator crystal also can be used to capture neutrons through a nuclear reaction with lithium (Li) atoms in the crystal, and also produces a flash of light due to the energetic particles from the neutron-lithium reaction. Unfortunately, these crystals can be difficult to grow and thus are quite expensive.
Another way to detect these types of radiation relies on the capture of neutrons by cadmium (Cd) in crystals of cadmium-zinc-telluride (CdZnTe) (often abbreviated CZT). CZT also is used in detectors for gamma-ray radiation. The neutron-cadmium reaction produces gamma rays that would be detected by pulses of electrons from the CZT, but the sensitivity is low and it is difficult to distinguish whether the pulse of electrons was caused by a neutron or a gamma ray.